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(F Communications/Creative Vibes)
Parisian producer and multi-instrumentalist Fred ‘Avril’ Magnon first turned heads internationally with his 2002 album ‘That Horse Must Be Starving’, which blended electronics and guitars seamlessly with lush orchestrated arrangements akin to those of fellow countrymen Air. Now two years later, he’s returned with the follow-up ‘Members Only’, and it’s certainly more of a ferocious beast than a hungry steed.
Avril first appeared on the radar in the late 1990s when he reworked F-Comm label head Laurent Garnier’s dark crunching techno ode to download paranoia ‘Greed’, into a downtempo string-laden epic loaded with spy-movie suspense. Since then, via a scattering of other stellar remixes, the EP ‘Now It’s Spring’ and the widespread acclaim that greeted his debut, Avril gone on to become one of the most touted ‘names to watch’ on the F-Comm label roster. ‘That Horse Must Be Starving’ also pocketed the 2002 Prix Constantin (the French equivalent of the UK’s Mercury Prize) for its merits, which also no doubt contributed to the pressure Magnon felt when crafting this follow-up.
For ‘Members Only’, Magnon initially had recorded several tracks and was preparing to test them out live, when he suddenly decided to cancel the whole string of planned live gigs and ‘junk’ the existing material he’d recorded. Instead, he drafted in an entire live band and decided to follow a completely different approach to his first album – recording the entire album ‘live in the studio’ with the band. As a result, ‘Members Only’ has a sound that seems immediately ‘bigger’ than its predecessor, Magnon’s parts fleshed out by the presence of Gregor Hilbe (drums), Olivier Libaux (bass), Bob Hilion (additional guitars) and Sophia Domancich (additional keyboards).
The opening track ‘Urban Serenade’ is initially a little misleading as to the contents inside ‘Members Only’, as it’s perhaps the track that out of all here most immediately resembles the territory explored on Avril’s previous album. Opening with whispered voices and sampled background chatter, it opens out into lush downtempo beats overlaid with graceful strummed acoustic guitar and washes of synthetic strings, in what almost sounds like the cinematic opening theme to a French movie about doomed lovers, shortly before fierce violent radio static cuts in right at the end – the sound of the station dial suddenly being wrenched somewhere else.
Proceedings then flow directly into ‘Be Yourself’, which fuses a dark buzzing electroclash undercarriage with distorted crashing snares and Magnon’s smooth slightly sleazy Gallic vocals, some fierce distorted guitar loops and a solid post-punk bassline propelling it to a suitably fiery finish. ‘Room’ starts out downtempo and atmospheric with Magnon’s spoken vocals talking about ‘being stuck in a room / with speakers on the ceiling’ over a clicking eerie backdrop that almost sounds like it could have come from Trent Reznor, before it starts to build up over swelling synths and chugging guitars into a huge overdriven rock track that’s flecked with a goth post-Joy Division atmosphere recently also seen on work by fellow Frenchman Colder.
‘Can’t Stand Your Ex’s Rock Band’ is the most outwardly electropop moment on this album and would make a great radio song with it’s chorus refrain of ‘upper-middle class wankers enjoying their hooligan’s role – they wouldn’t hurt a fly’ – the track chronicles the progress of Magnon, who can’t get the aforementioned band to stop practising in his house, and instead tells them that his best friend is at a party with ‘Oasis and The Strokes’ in order to get them to leave. It’s all infused with some thumping live drums, jangling electric guitars and bleeping rhythms that’s undercut with some sweeping orchestration right at the end. ‘Power’ pushes the electro bpms back up with a growling synth bassline and DFA-esque punk-funk beats introducing Magnon’s vocals doubled with female backups, singing about the nature of power (“It’s a body / A gun”) over some thrashing live drums and squealing synths primed for overload.
‘As The Music Stops’ offers a complete change of pace from the electro-infused rock stomp, being a beautiful sparse love song sung over gentle acoustic guitar, creaking noises like wind and the crackling of an open fire. Right at the end though, Magnon sings ’...sometimes even your favourite song sounds like shit’, and the whole graceful ambience is undercut by the entire track tearing itself apart with a horrible ripping noise, and you’re left with the sound of an irate neighbour bashing on the door. “Turn the bloody music off!” ‘TV Dinner’ pushes things back into electroclash territory, its dark synthetic rhythms overlaid with delayed-out French female vocals and volleys of airy syn-drum crashes, while ‘Eve+++++’ returns to the downtempo atmospherics of Avril’s first album, strummed digitally cut-up acoustic guitar slowly gliding along with Magnon’s vocals over a lush backdrop of string drones, synth washes, brush drums and what sounds like sampled monkey chatter.
As it rolls to a suitably epic string-laden close (complete with sampled kitten purr, if you listen closely), it flows directly into ‘Roofless’, which opens with some sparkling vibraphone into glorious widescreen strings undercut with a brooding live bassline, providing an atmospheric instrumental segue into closing track ‘Quand tu fais ca.’ Slowly fading in with the sound of a radio being tuned between stations, it features Magnon fiercely trying not to laugh as his Gallic vocal deliberately apes Carly Simon at its beginning, then plunges down into a lush voyage through angelic choral harmonies, slow languid live drums and spectral theremins – close your eyes, and you can almost see the credits rolling.
‘Members Only’ is a more than worthy follow-up to Avril’s stunning ‘That Horse Must Be Starving’ that builds upon the successes of that album and explores even wider sonic terrain. While fans of Magnon’s earlier lush string-laden downtempo moments will still find a lot to like on this album, with ‘Members Only’ it’s clear he that was keen to distance himself from any ‘easy listening’ pigeonhole and capture the energy and volume of his live band (who managed to add an extra bpm to their cover of ‘French Kiss’ every night they played a gig). There’s so much variety here that there’s bound to be something that will appeal to everyone – the singles potential of a lot of the tracks here also means that we’re sure to hear a lot more about Avril during 04. Meticulously detailed dark pop tracks that will get stuck in your head, guaranteed.
Highly recommended.
Recommended for fans of 10,000 Hz Legend / Virgin Suicides-era Air, Colder, DFA, Blackstrobe
Check out: www.avril-members-only.com
